Cold Pasta
by Lohce Azcry
Summary: The skeleton. The soul. The brother. The human. The snow. The RESET. The LOAD. The promise. The knife. They add up.
1. Chapter 1

"ya ready?"

His permi-grin is startling, to say the least. Despite your **DETERMINATION** , it's been unnerving you, and you chastise yourself for letting something so minor catch you off guard. But regardless, you can't stop noticing as he _pings_ your **SOUL** and throws you across the room he's smiling the whole time, though you know by the color of his eye and the hard set of his jaw he's anything but. You wonder with delicious irony how that works. He can open his mouth to eat hotdogs and drown himself in ketchup, but he can't will his cheekbones down. You make a point to bring that up, next time you get the chance to chat.

Now there's a bit of a lull. He's standing in front of you, sweating and panting, but looks a hell of a lot better than your bruised shoulders and matted hair. You're bleeding on your head and you think one of your ankles is broken, but your **HP** is reasonable this late in the game and you can still ride out the attacks you know are coming. Your **DETERMINATION** flares. You've killed worse, and you'll kill more to come.

You brandish the knife.

"course you're not," he says. You gather **DETERMINATION** , brandishing the knife, and sprint, your feet ready to jump or dodge at any moment. But he's not moving. With a damnable grin, his makes a mock finger gun at you.

"k-chk-"

You realize too late and try to dodge, but you know he's got you this time.

"-bang."

Clever, you think.

His finger gun flicks up, his eye flares into a yellow slit, and a beam of blue energy whips out and slams into you. It certainly feels like a bullet, and it hurdles you into a wall hard enough that you leave a sizable dent in the stone and your skull, which you feel cave in. Internally, you see your **HP** shudder and blink to zero, and your soul cracks into two neat halves.

 _Damn you._

* * *

He hurdles you into the air and slams you into the ceiling, causing the grip on the knife to fail for a moment. You catch it as he lowers you and prepare for the second impact, but seconds pass. You wonder if you're dead already, but your chest hurts and you can feel your leg cry out in pulses. You open your eyes. You're still in midair, your limbs weighted and movement restricted, and you pause in curiosity. You wonder if he'll try to take the knife from your hands. **DETERMINATION** fills you. Slam, break, shoot and stab all he likes, he'll never pull it from your hands. You know that for a fact. You can stand many things, but you cannot stand dying by your own blade.

But instead, to your slight relief, he plummets you to the ground and freezes you at his height, spinning so that you're face to face. His permi-grin is mirthless and his eye is a cold, merciless flame, and

* * *

 _I'm so sorry I'm so_

* * *

you involuntarily feel your sins crawl on your back. But your **DETERMINATION** grounds you, and you let it show without restraint.

"i gotta wonder if anything's in there," he says, more to himself. He inches you closer to his face and the eye searches you. Your knife hand twitches, but his eye flares and holds you back. You feel your insides squirm, which irritates you, and you turn the internal knife to yourself and beat the discomfort until it silences.

* * *

 _Not me_

* * *

You suppose he's mocking you, or trying to unnerve you, and your **DETERMINATION** flares. If you could open your mouth, which you try and fail to, you would tell him to get it over with, or say something about Papyrus. You know from past experience it always goaded something from him.

His fingers spin and you're upside down. He tilts his head, but it's far from jesting. "anybody lookin' out of there?"

* * *

 _I'm here I'm here I'm here I'm here I'm here_

* * *

You feel his gaze on your every movement. You can taste his hate, but the curiosity is another thing that sets you off. This is obviously a mockery now, but you prefer the kind that ends with a **CONTINUE** than a staring contest with some damnable skeleton that should've been dead a long time ago.

* * *

 _Please_

* * *

It dawns on you with satisfaction, then, what he's looking for, and your **DETERMINATION** flares stronger. You glare straight at him and with the barest of movement smile, your body squirming and the knife hand inching forward. Your face contorts into the one Papyrus once commented on, the one that made Undyne's skin crawl.

His face falters ever so, his grin slips just a little.

"nah, just a dirty brother killer." His eye dilates.

You both remain like that for a moment before his arm flashes and darts up, and you're jerked to the ceiling where your **HP** shudders and falls. You dash to the walls and the pillars and the floor with an erratic movement that surely will kill you, but your smile remains even as the last of your **HP** dies and the familiar sense of time running backwards hits you.

* * *

At one point you try something new. Despite your ample **HP** and **DETERMINATION** , you wonder if in the battle something may slip, which, you know, could spell your death again. You know patience, (you suppose, in fact, if anything could be the physical incarnation of _patience_ it would be you) and the long game, but you are not limitless. The amount of **CONTINUE** s have been lost to you, but the number is daunting, and you feel a slight tremor as you stand. Another array of bones explode up from the floor, breaking your train of thought, and you dodge perfectly, but the idea wriggles again as you come to land. To your displeasure, you admit shamefully that you don't like the idea of your skull caving in again, and you are, despite all your fancy, _not_ the incarnation of patience. Time has no distinction between the **CONTINUE** s. One second you die with a shattered ribcage, and the next you're standing at full **HP**. You don't _feel_ any pain, but you remember it very clearly, and it results in you feeling disconnected, and even more, your **DETERMINATION** faltered.

It couldn't hurt, you decide, and if all else fails you can **CONTINUE**. You turn to face him, seeing him brace for the next attack. Inside you squirm, but you don't try and silence it this time. Instead, you let it leak through in controlled amounts, and in a magnificent second the knife drops and your face falls, tears freely streaking down your face. Your voice tremors as you try to speak and a sob comes out instead.

His attack stops. The eye is still burning and the permi-grin remains utterly placid, but he stops.

You feel yourself want to step forward and you allow that. An arm reaches forward.

"S-sans..."

Your voice is awkward to your ears. You never talked much to begin with, and doing so now was a bit of a struggle. Your vision is blurred from all the tears, but you see his form is motionless.

"I'm so sorry...I'm...I didn't..." You sob.

"come to the light now, have ya?"

From your left you see a wall of blue swing forward and slam into you, but it isn't as forceful as before and simply knocks you down. Your **DETERMINATION** falters for the barest of moments, but you resolve it's a test and push yourself up, your body shaking from sobs. He remains placid, his single eye following your pathetic steps.

"Sorry...I'm...I didn't mean t-to, it was an mistake...it's-it's..."

"i'm touched, honestly."

A sword bears down on you and reluctantly you allow it to strike your arm, and, more importantly, your **HP**. You're close now, closer than you expected to get. Ten steps and you'd reach him. Damn, if you hadn't dropped that knife. You see his eye burn a little brighter, his grin utterly impenetrable.

"It's...it's not me...it's..."

Something bursts through your chest and lifts you off your feet. You look down. A bone, as blue as the open sky you know he's never seen, is jutting from the floor and into your chest, and you know it's gone through it too. Blood begins to trickle down it and and your cough is flecked with red. You look up. He is still as placid as before, except he's sweating like a pig. _Damn you,_ you think, but you're partially grateful that he'd done something before you'd said something really stupid. You don't try to hold back the surprised look on your face, and your insides squirm.

But your **DETERMINATION** is strong, even as your **HP** drains to nothing. You let the tears fall freely as the dark overtakes you, and you sob.

"S-sans...why...?" Your words are choked with blood.

"come on, pal,"

Something impales you again, but at this point your lack of **HP** leaves you immune to the pain.

"S-sans..."

"contrary to popular belief..."

Another bone juts into you.

"I-I-I'm..."

"..i'm not a fan of bad jokes."

How many pierced into you you couldn't tell, and at this point your **HP** is a second away from empty. But your **DETERMINATION** is ever so strong. You're angry, of course, that it had been a waste of a **CONTINUE** , and even more so that you're having a harder time than expected holding it back, and it takes it all to keep you from completely breaking down when you look up to see him sweating, his eye yellow, his arm still in the upward motion.

"...sorry."

* * *

You swing the knife forward as you jump, and, as you expected, he dodges. This time he slaps your back as you sail past him, but it's charged with a force that ends up careening you to the other side of the hall. You stand. He turns around and three Gaster Blasters form behind him.

"having fun yet?"

Beams of sickly blue burst from their mouths and you sprint to the right, but one of them hits you and you crash to the floor with a strangled cry. Instinct screams at you to jump up as you feel the floor tingle, so you roll as you feel bones burst from the floor, barley grazing you. But before you can stand up you _ping_ and then rip into the air and slam into a pillar. Your leg breaks and an internal check of **HP** shows it glaringly low, and your stock of food, to your displeasure, is used up already.

You see the outcome already, and you're sure he does too.

When you fall to the floor and lay still long enough to know he won't attack immediately, you stand up, but your leg gives, so you resort to kneeling.

A bone appears to his side, aimed straight at you.

"give up kid,"

The bone burst into blue flames.

"and try not to come back."

 _"Auugh!"_

You manage to get yourself into a crouch before he throws it, and he falters.

Your stomach is on fire, but your **DETERMINATION** pulls you through, and you manage to lean against the pillar and get yourself into a relative standing position. You feel the blood trickle down your leg and puddle at your feet, but you're sure he can see it. Plunged hilt-deep into your stomach is the knife, nestled like a snake's tooth. You limp towards him.

"I am, Sans," you say, your voice shaking from the pain, but your **DETERMINATION** keeps you on your feet. "Are you?" With great effort, you pull the knife out. Blood dribbles from your mouth. "Is this fun...for you?" Your steps are heavy. His face, despite the permi-grin, betrays nothing, but a fine sheet of sweat trickles down his forehead.

Your **HP** is draining quicker now, but you're close to him. You manage if you keep the pace up, you could land a swing on him and eat whatever is left in your pocket. "This is what you want...right? You... _hate_ me." No, you won't be able to do it, you admit bitterly. You drop the knife, but in a burst of **DETERMINATION** you stand straight and hold your arms out wide, beckoning. "Happy?" you ask, and your **HP** takes a terrifying drop. "I made your job... _easier._ Ha...haha...haaaaa..."

You swear, just before your eyes close, that he leaned forward ever so slightly.

* * *

He's **SPARING** you.

You have a hard time believing it.

You brandish the knife. He stands there, face grinning and sweat running down his face, his breath haggard. No Gaster Blasters or bone spikes appear. You take a step forward, and he doesn't move. You're cautious. This is new. And impossible. You've cut his brother down, his friends down, and you know he loathes you greater than anything he's ever loathed in his sad little life. You herald the end of the world, you, as Undyne put it, stand in the way of everybody's happiness. There is no such thing as **SPARING** for him.

"just lay down your weapon, and..."

You're careful to keep the confusion from your face. You fiddle with the knife, and take a slight step.

No bones explode into your chest.

You wonder if he's flickering between timelines. It's possible, you suppose, if you add the exhaustion and battle fatigue. You've never seen it, but you don't doubt there's a chance he's talking to with someone of lesser **DETERMINATION**. You take another hesitant step forward, but he makes no move.

He's closed his eyes. "well, my job will be a lot easier."

He opens his eyes and they're back to their friendly pricks of white, the demonic blue and yellow smothered. You can't tell by his face what the truth is. The grin is indiscernible. Your mind's eye checks him.

 **SANS 1 ATK 1 DEF**

 **The easiest enemy.**

 **Can only deal 1 damage.**

 **Can't keep dodging forever.**

 **Keep attacking.**

Which you could do. Your food is spent, though, and your **HP** is low. You know you could continue, and you know he's as spent as you. He's a dead man walking, you know for certain, and the time _is_ coming, but temptation is as strong as the **DETERMINATION** , and you know you can always **CONTINUE.** Perhaps, if all else fails, this is a weakness you can exploit later.

So you straighten, and stare at him. The knife hangs by your side, limp.

He closes his eyes.

"you're sparing me?"

You're silent.

His open his eyes, and you detect that there's something more genuine to his smile. Or perhaps that's mockery. Relief washes through him like the sweat on his brow. "finally." He looks at you and you don't believe a drop of the sympathy in his eyes. "buddy. pal. i know how hard it must be to make that choice. to go back on everything you've worked up to. i want you to know..."

Oh, this is a howl, you think. An idiot could see past this. You resist the urge to tighten your grip. You're going to have too much find cutting his soul in half when this is done.

"i won't let it go to waste."

If you had lesser sense, you would chuckle.

He's silent for a moment, and then his arms open.

"c'more, pal."

You walk forward, steps slow, and the sound echoes. His grin is the widest you've seen it yet, a fine sheet of sweat on his brow. You walk the closest you have ever gotten to him, close enough for him to hug you.

Which he does, right as you start to raise the knife arm. A bear hug devoid of any affection, a hug meant to hold you in place. His jacket is warm and stuffy and smothers your face and you curse yourself. Damn damn damn. Should've seen it quicker.

Panic. You feel him lift you up and you squirm to move the knife, but he lifts you high over his shoulder and spins, and you see in your mind what's coming next. You hear them burst from the floor and he slams you down, your body impaling on multiple bone spikes. You stifle a shout, and the knife clatters from your hand. Blood coughs from your punctured lungs.

You stare at him.

"geeetttttt dunked on," he says mirthlessly, standing over you. His eye reverts to it's shimmering blue as your HP drains into nothingness and pained grunts rush out of you as your lungs process the bones protruding in them.

 _Damn you._

"if we're really friends..."

You glare, and he blinks. His eyes have returned to normal, and you think he looks remorseful. God, you think as you die, you're going to _kill_ him.

...you won't come back."

* * *

Another wave of Gaster Blasters barrels towards you, forcing you to do a half-spin, half-jump to get away from it, but it nicks your arm and your **HP** shudders. You land. He's close to you, relatively.

There's a lull in the fight now. You're both panting, blood trickling from your arm. Worse off than him, you suppose, but his grin seems strained and there's a wince in his eyes. You search your memories, as you often do, for something that could help you. Physical ferocity is one thing, but emotional manipulation has helped you in the past. He is not invincible, you have come to learn. You've aggravated him in the past, gotten him sloppy, nicked the jacket once or twice. Never more than that, but there were close calls. It just takes a little... _push._

A particular memory surfaces, and you fight the impulse to smirk. You straighten and giggle with an impish smile, fiddling with the knife. You have, until this point, kept your face placid, not only due to concentration but also a tactic to keep him unnerved, and you see something in his unchangeable grin shift.

"'Wowie", Sans!" you exclaim, your voice high and peppy and awkward, breaking at the end. In all the time you've spoken it's never come out smooth. "I guess you're _sans_ a brother now, huh?"

Silence.

His left eye dims to a yellow prick and your spine crawls. You can taste the utter hatred pulse from him and you bounce on your feet, twirling the knife. But you've caught him off guard, too, something you don't do much, and you push a little further.

"Oh, it looks like that joke really _brothers_ you!" you burst out, your tone mocking, waving the knife in jesting gestures. "Hahaha-"

In the passing of a second you dart forward mid-laugh, his eyes shifting from fury to confusion to panic in a burst of blue. You swing the knife forward and he barley dodges you, the knife hitching the jacket, and you feel him frantically _ping_ you into the air and smash you into the nearest wall, your **HP** dropping to dangerous levels. The force is harder than usual, the precision more direct, and you giggle again as you fish out your only Legendary Hero and devour it.

"-hahaha! It's funny because I murdered-"

You jump out of the way of a hail of bones and a trio of Gaster Blasters which stings the hairs on your skin.

"-your brother, the most-"

The floor glows red and you barrel roll out of the way. You feel a shadow over you as you kneel to stand, and look up. His eye is a menacing point of cold blue, his grin stretched to the edges of his face. You watch him pull his left hand out of his jacket and his eye flares as a pinwheel of bones, sharpened to the ends, materializes at his palm. It begins to spin, until he's made something of a saw.

His other hand shoots out and you're _pinged_ into the air to be pinned to the ceiling. You struggle, but his arm pushes up and you start to feel the force compress your lungs. This is new, you think. This is _very_ new. Still, you keep the smile. The results are better than you could've imagine.

You push the last words out, and now you're forced to shouting. "-important thing in your whole sad, pathetic life!"

The last word echoes and you follow it with a maniacal laughter. Far below you, his eye glares and his bone saw whirrs. He glances at it, and then back to you. Then he moves his hand under you, and the saw tilts up. If you were of lesser **DETERMINATION** , you would be paralyzed with fear, but you are not lesser, and your grin is as stretched as his. Oh yes, this is **_very_** new. Inside you something squirms and you kick it down, letting an alien horror fill you that does nothing as you see him swing his arm down and you plummet.

* * *

 ** _i've caught the Undertale fever, so here's a to-be-updated string of one-shots mostly revolving around Sans. be warned. most are sad. little is happy. they go out of order depending on what hits me. some inspiration is taken from fanart, but sadly by the time i finish these i have to dive through pages of tumblr blogs, which takes up time i could be spending writing (and we don't want that now do we). but if you know the art, hey, then props to the artist. they're half the fandom. without them i wouldn't get the inspiration i needed to write this stuff._**

 ** _remember_** ** _: reviews = happy author = quicker updates_**


	2. Chapter 2

_That's your SOUL._

You feel cold, but it's not the physical chill from the wintry weather. At least, not like it. More internal, like someone had stuck a block of ice in your chest.

 _That's your SOUL._

You've seen your SOUL before, of course, but this is the first time you've seen your SOUL outside of your body, and not really by your own will either. A red heart, something a kid may have cut out with scissors, but you know it's so much more than that. It's warmth heats your shirt and pulses a soft glow, and looking into it is also looking into _you_. You can see yourself in that red, see your face, your body, your character, see your hopes and your fears all wrapped into one. You feel as though it's the most precious thing in the world, and it's _leaving_ you. You feel a sense of awful loss looking at it as delicate hands, pale as the snow around you, wrap around it and pull it away. You try to lean forward, but something holds you back.

 _Oh_ , you remember now.

You try to turn your head up and just barley do so, the energy fading from you at an alarming rate. Your memories are faltering, but you vaguely recall what lead up to this. Someone had told you something, but you can't remember what, but the pang of regret tells you you did exactly the opposite thing. And you had met this monster, in doing whatever you had done, and you know something had gone very wrong in the process. But you can't for the life of you recall anything more than that. In fact, you're not remembering much at all.

Even your name has escaped you.

Monster? Hadn't you heard something about monsters, once, a long long time ago? They were evil-

No, they were not. They were-

They?

The coldness grows until your body tingles uncomfortably. You can no longer move. You can, however, see your SOUL move away-

 _thatsyourSOUL_

 _-_ and a sense of awful emptiness fills you. Something's cooing in your ear. You can't understand it, but the sounds distracts you from the emptiness. If you could feel, you would feel hands of glass stroking your shoulder, your hair, in a motherly fashion that would have reminded you of...

Who?

Your legs give, but something holds you up. You see your SOUL again, in the corner of your eye, and you're drawn to it like a moth. But it moves from view and the dull sky takes it's place. If you had better sense, you would realize you cannot see colors anymore.

You... _you_...

 _small. and. scared. cant. see. sense. hear. colors. and. see. sound. dont. want. to. be. here. any. more. wrong. overexposed. overstimulating. holding. its. cold. and. burns. cry. out. something. very. wrong. friends. want. friends. want. mommy. and. daddy. but. don't. wrong._

hush, my child

 _cold. uncaring. scares. quiver. bites. cry. out. again._

 _i_ will take care of you

 _nobody. hears. help. help. so sorry. but. nobody. comes._

do not fret, my child, you are the last, you are what will set us free, let me take you, child, to them, join them, and _free_ us

 _cry. out. again._

 **hush**

 _hurts. you. nothing. dark. cold. shy. away._

 **be silent**

 _something. cold. pierces. sharp. pain. help._

 **BE SILENT**

 _crushes._ _screaming. cracks. can't. help. help. sorry. please._

 **BE SILENT OR I WILL END YOU AS THE BREATH ENDS FLAME YOU INSIGNIFICANT-**

 _pain. cold. crushing. gone. drop. cry. out. again. nothing. the. snow. and. the. snowflakes. touch. feather. shuddering. scared. call. out. response. presence. know. not. sure. pull. away._

 _near._

 _k_ **i** _d_ **d** _o_ **?**

 _next. cannot. tell. cant. stop. it. held. in. cage. close. around._

 _c_ **a** _n_ **y** _o_ **u** _h_ **e** _a_ **r** _m_ **e** _?_

 _slow. squirm. soft. look. know. them?_ _safer. comfort. know. him? Sans? Sans? Sans?_

 _i_ **t** _' **s** o **k** a **y**._

 _sorry. sorry. sorry. sorry. sorry. shy. away. pushes._

 _j_ **u** _s_ **t** _l_ **e** _t_ **i** _t_ **h** _a_ **p** _p_ **e** _n._

 _no. no. scared. cry. out. push. away._

 _t_ **r** _u_ **s** _t_ **m** _e._

 _warm. hesitant. touch. settle. familiar. touch..._ touch...

Your sight.

You can see.

See?

You still cannot see colors. The world is blurry. Body. You're in a body. You have a body. But you can't move it. It tingles in an unsettling way and you panic, but you can't even move your face to show it. You try to turn your head and can't, and your terror intensifies. As sensation slowly returns to you, you realize you aren't on the snow. Snow. The words come back to you. You're not standing, either. Something is...is...

Carrying you. You're still cold. Something pierces your ears and shakes your SOUL hard enough to make you shiver and the empty feeling flickers again. You still can't turn your head, but somehow your it's shifted so that you can see a little in the distance. Color slowly returns. Far away, there's snow and trees, and there's a...

There's a woman. She's very white, and you realize she's wearing a...

Dress? She's wearing a dress. Her face is covered in a something and she's screaming an awful scream and you wish it would go away, because there's something blue...

Blue. There's a lot of blue now. You see things dart past you and towards her in a slow, otherworldly speed, thing that look like bones, and _that_ scares you more than anything.

She screams again.

You squirm, and something tilts your head away from her, and now there's Sans. You're looking up at him, but he's not looking at you. His skull, perfectly white against the dark sky, is hard set. There's blue everywhere, actually, and you think you can see things that look like skulls past him, and swords and bones and other things that confuse and scare you. You try to speak, but your mouth refuses to work, and it's not his glowing eye that scares you but his grin, which is not the least happy, that squeezes fear into your heart. You shy your head into the soft fabric that surrounds you and you stay there.

There are more screams, and panting, and other sounds that scare you, so you stay in that crook. Guilt begins to eat at you because you know this is your fault. You went where they warned you not to go and now this was happening. You went to the lake, actually, the lake they said not to go to because there were some monsters who didn't know how nice of a person you were and would hurt you. You remember Sans winking at you when he told you this too, and Papyrus giving you a hug because you looked a little sad.

Eventually, after some time, the screaming stops. You stay in the warmth and don't move, your heart pounding. Something pokes you shoulder.

"i need you to look at me."

You don't want to see that grin glare into you, so you stubbornly keep your head there.

"kid."

Fear tickles your heart. You turn your head to face him. You cower. His eyes are tiny pinpricks, one of them slightly blue, his brow glittering with sweat, and his grin is devoid of any humor or comfort. He searches your face and you would turn away if you had the energy to do it.

"pal," he says, his voice hard. "i might be funny bones, but when i say 'don't go over there' i mean 'don't go over there'."

You try to say something, but he shakes his head. "the last thing you need to do right now is talk." He looks away, and you turn into his coat and try to get lost in its warmth. But he gently shakes you back to face him.

"or sleep."

You feel a swaying movement and register he's walking. An arm settles on your back and you suppose he's carrying you with two arms now. You don't have any idea where's he's going and you don't really want to know. Instead you focus on the heat. Your chest hurts now, a slight pain growing from your heart, but you can do nothing about it. Your memories come in a blur, and trying to recall one hurts too much and you give up. You legs are cold, but you can't speak to tell him that. At least you have his jacket to comfort you. You wish he would talk, but he remains abnormally silent and that scares you something awful.

Eventually the wind picks up and you're leaning into him more, your legs wondrously tucked into his jacket. You lean in and start to shiver, and an onset of sleep tugs at you. Your eyes droop.

The wind dies down and you settle again. Something pinches your arm, but it's dull and doesn't register. The pinch again, but harder, and you try to shrug it away.

"kid, you might feel feeling bad right now, but i'm gonna need you to stay awake, okay?"

Time passes. You shudder. Sometimes he drums his fingers on your arms or tap your forehead with his chin to keep you awake. He tells you some puns, something about a spaghetti plate, a bird, you can't recall. He might've said nothing at all. Your chest still hurts, but you can't move your arms to even try and touch it. There are some points where the air seems to still and you feel as if you both are speeding forward and you feel waves of nausea whenever that happens, but you chalk that to your imagination.

You start to jostle. You turn your head slightly and see a door, a house. Is it Sans's? You don't know. He's opening the door and carrying you in, and the chill goes away. If you could, you would have grunted in at the heat, but instead all you do is make a soft whine.

"yeah, i thought you'd like that."

You're in...his house. Sure, you were friends, and you trusted he and his brother wouldn't try to hurt you, but you still had to get over the idea of them. They were, still, monsters, skeletons actually, who seemed aware you weren't supposed to be their friend and yet was, and that their job was, in the end, to capture you, and you weren't too certain that had forgotten that yet.

There's a hallway and then a kitchen, or maybe it's the living room. You feel him stop and adjust his arms, and he leans down and carefully lets you roll into the the couch and settle into the soft cushions. Something heavy is thrown on you. A blanket. You can't really curl into it, but you clutch your arms.

A shadow. Sans stands above you, hands in his pockets, the pinpricks of his eyes looking past you. It makes you uncomfortable, but you can't ask him why. You have no doubts he's angry about what you'd done, but you didn't like his silence, and the grin was ever unnerving. Finally he snaps out and turns away, heading into the kitchen. You're left alone, and your mind starts to wander. Your memories are coming in clearer now. Somebody _did_ tell you not to go there, and that somebody was Sans. Well, Sans and Papyrus. And that there was the lake, the duck pond Papyrus mentioned he didn't like going to because it was "TOO QUIET AND THERE WERE SURPRISINGLY FEW DUCKS". Sans _had_ winked at you. "yeah, i don't like that place either. i'd _sans_ a visit around there anytime soon if i were you."

And what had you done? The exact opposite. You were still new to Snowdin, still new to the idea of monsters and magic and having to run or dodge or flirt or joke for your life and talking skeletons who were obsessed with puns and spaghetti, and you supposed that if there was a spot the skeletons refused to go to then other monsters would avoid it as well, and you could lay down by the ducks and maybe sleep a while. You hadn't done that since you'd run away from...

 _...Toriel._

A pang of regret touches you.

Thus you had wandered around until you had found something of a map, and you memorized the spot of blue where you supposed the ducks were. Through the snow and trees you trudged, always checking your back to make sure no monster was sneaking up on you, until you had come into something of a clearing. Sure enough, there was a pond, but you saw no ducks nor anything to suggest monsters avoided the place. Were there other ponds? You doubted it.

You turned to leave, and then you saw...

...saw...

her...

Your head starts to hurt and your chest flares. You clutch the blanket and squeeze your eyes shut, trying to will away the awful feeling. You hear Sans walk back, but you don't open your eyes.

"hey."

A sharp pain lashes out. Something thorny is lodged inside your ribs, and your mind tries to call back memories you don't want to recall. Suddenly everything is warm and stuffy and uncomfortable.

He's closer. "human."

With an awful sudden clarity you remember exactly _why_ you fell into this hole, why you were so alone. Your remember the feeling of weightlessness, of the wind rushing past your face, and the impact, the crushing of flowers underneath you. You remember the pain. You remember the voice in your head you began to hear when you put the locket on, and you remember that the voice is still there, sitting in the corner of your head, currently silent. You're terrified.

And it's name...it's name is...

You sense him kneeling. The blanket is taken from you, and he pushes you so that you're flat on your back. "i'm gonna to have to do something you won't like."

Your eyes fly open. He's hunched over your chest. His eyes are pinpricks, and he's very still.

"it's gonna hurt, and you're gonna hate me for a little while." He puts his hands on your stomach. He glances at you. "sorry."

In the span of a second his left eye shrinks to nothing and his right explodes into blue, and suddenly he's on fire, but the fire is blue and is more cold than hot, and the sparks rush to his hands and they start to violently glow and he suddenly plunges them into your chest and you _scream_.

Pain erupts where your heart is, a sharp, agonizing shriek. You feel his hands _digging_ inside you, but they aren't _inside_ you. They're in the place where the voice is, and the voice shrinks away into a tiny speck and then nothing. His face is contorted, but when he moves his hands up the pain is overwhelming and you begin to cry.

You try to bat his hands-that-aren't-hands away, but when you open your squeezed eyes for a second you see you're on fire too, but it's blue and wavy and it holds your limbs down like anchors. His hands move again and a pained scream erupts from you again. It _hurts_. It feels as though your body is filled with shards of glass and his hands are pushing them against your skin, searching for something. _Stop_ , you try to cry out, but your mouth can't do anything other than _scream_. You feel his hands close around something, and for a moment they still.

And then something shifts inside you, and you can hear it too, an audible _sh-ift,_ and you gasp. A warmth spreads in your chest and Sans jerks his hands away from you and you're very hot now, you're burning up as the colors around you flare and your vision goes temporarily white. You think you might be screaming.

Then it's over. The heat is gone as quick as it came. The weight on your body is gone and your hands fly to your chest where your heart is hammering like a drum. Sans sits next to you, his eyes back to normal, though sweat sheets his brow and he's slightly panting. The pain fades into absence. You can talk now.

"S-s..."

He hold a hand up and bends down to pick up the blanket, and throws it over you. You curl into it. "i know you might have some questions," he stands up and sighs, visibly exhausted, "but right now this skelebro needs a nap." He looks at you and gives a half-hearted wink. "so do you."

And you do. You are suddenly exhausted, and you have to blink sleep away to keep eye contact. You feel...good, kind of like the satisfaction one gets after vomiting or running, the feeling that even though it hurt what was wrong has been put right.

"Sans...?" you whisper. Your eyes are puffy and red and your voice comes out cracked. "I'm...s...orry."

"it's okay. go to sleep."

And that's exactly what you do.

* * *

 _ **this is the part where you go "holy hell is she actually gonna update this". well surprise. chapter 3, 4 and 5 are half-written, so if everything goes as planned i can have at least two chapters up a week. also, if you happen to find the fanart some of this stuff was inspired by please PM me the link to it. at the end i have intents for credits. time can be spent searching after i write, but if ya'll can be darlings and speed that along, awesome. and hey, there's another reason for you to scroll through the excellent fanart on the Internet. can we give all the artists of the Undertale fandom another round of applause? **_

**_speaking of, i'm looking for a beta reader to improve the quality, check for canon hiccups and help me make puns for Sans as that special art does not come natural to me. send me a PM if you're interested._**

 ** _remember: reviews = happy author = quicker updates_**


	3. Chapter 3

_* The sun, really...I always wanted to see the sun._

You frown. Your shoulder brushes another petal. Pollen shifts in the air.

 _* Why did the humans lock us away, mommy?_

 _* Because they were very scared of us, Tompson._

 _* But why?_

Another blue flower whispers into your ear as you pass by it.

 _* What's a cloud?_

 _* Maybe a big rock will fall through! Then we can see the sky through the hole and we won't have to wait!_

 _* Six...only six more...oh, why must it be so long? But..._

 _* Undyne will save us!_

In the light of the glowing crystals your frown deepens, to the point where you no longer gaze at the splendor around you. The enchant is gone, now, and instead you feel like you're trespassing in hallowed ground, on a massive, ethereal graveside, the Echo Flowers corpses you're afraid to touch, their whispers moaning in your ears like lost souls. Suddenly you're very aware of your heartbeat, and more aware of the force beating it.

 _* It's so dark, daddy._

 _* You'll get used to it, sweetie._

Your mood is quite sullen when you reach the little enclave, and you barley glance at the mirage of glittering red gems above you, which form a dazzling red sky. The soft glow of the water doesn't even draw a gaze from you. Instead, you beeline for the Box, your pockets jangling with glasses and foods and trinkets. There are monsters around you, but they're background noise at this point, and your heart doesn't flutter, nor does your hand twitch.

"hey, kid."

You stop and turn. Sans stands in a little alcove in the wall, leaning back, his hands in his jacket, the pricks of his eyes watching you. Next to him is a telescope, odd enough, pointed to the ceiling. Then again, you've seen stranger.

"what's the rush?"

You blink.

He nods his head to the telescope. "you wonder what this is? well, i'm thinking about getting into the telescope business. it's normally $50000G to use the premium telescope..." He shrugs. "but...since i know you, you can use it for free."

He leans forward and winks. "howzabout it?"

You pause. His grin is unreadable, and his eyes are beady. There's no point in not, you suppose. You exhale, nodding, and walk to the telescope. You can feel his gaze on your back as you lean into the sights.

It's red. You tilt the telescope up a little. Still red. Left and right are also red, a shiny, soft glow from the reflections of a thousand small gems. You guess you find it charming, but in all honesty, it fill you with dread, and not the least bit that results in **DETERMINATION**. You lean back and glance at Sans, who looks back without a change in expression.

You shrug.

"huh? you aren't satisfied? don't worry." He winks again. "i'll give you a full refund."

A smile graces your lips only to fall. The tips on his grin falter, but you end it with a hum of thanks and walk past him towards the Box.

"hey kiddo?"

You stop and turn again, brow quirked. His face has a touch of concern, and he's not leaning on the wall anymore. He pulls out a skeletal hand and gestures for you to follow him. "mind if i chat?"

With hesitant steps you accompany to a bank where the smooth stone touches the blue water. He stands, looking out to the water, and you stop next to him, Around you, fireflies and soft spots of light float in the air like confetti. On the surface of the water lily pads and other aquatic plant life bob from the waves small fish make as they peek their heads, only to dive back into the blue. Peppering the walls are crystals of red, pinks and purples, reflecting on the water to create a mirage of cool colors. Incests and other things of the same nature buzz softly in the background. If you were not so sad, you would be utterly entranced. Instead, the beauty simply fills you with dread and a solemn guilt. Your heart feels like someone has hooked a terrible weight on it.

"the fish don't like the fireflies," Sans says in the silence, "but the frogs find them quite ribbiting."

You smile a little.

Close to the edge of the water, a fish prods his head through the surface to look at you. You look back, but the fish doesn't move. On a whim, you bend down, but it remains.

"i guess he likes you, huh?" You can feel his eyes on you.

Your smile fades.

"so, uh, i'm gonna bet you've seen those Echo Flowers?"

You're still.

 _* I wish with alllllll my heart another human will come down._

"any guess as to, uh, what they say?"

You reach a finger towards the fish and the moment breaks. In a jerk of fins, the fish darts away to the fathomless blue. You sigh, and look up at him. Sans looks down at you, hands in jacket, the edges of his grin faltered in what you guess is a frown.

* _I don't like this place. It's all dark._

 _* Well it's always dark down here._

 _* Think it won't always be that way?_

Your fingers reach up to your chest and scrunch the fabric over your heart. You shake your head.

You hear him sigh. "you've read the writing on the wall, then."

On the surface of the water you see yourself kneeling, tinted in shades of blue. You imagine the little red heart inside you, beating away, the powerhouse of your **DETERMINATION** , where your **LOVE** is. You can't imagine it as something so powerful it would take seven of them to break a barrier that holds back all the monsters you've faced. More powerful than Papyrus? That creepy Aaron? Undyne? The fabled Asgore? So powerful other humans had to lock away monsters for fear one of them would take one? No, in your mind's eye the little red heart inside you looks just a fragile as the soul the skeleton standing behind you. You couldn't see why anybody would clamor so for it.

But they do. They whisper their dreams to the flowers and they all echo the same thing. One more soul. Undye will deliver the soul to Asgore. The barrier will break. We will be free.

And there's _you_. With your soul sitting relatively comfortable in a chest not headed to Asgore.

"yeah...thought so," he continued, his voice somber. "those flowers...being a human listening to the hopes and dreams of monsters...a lot to take in, isn't it?"

You nod.

"so you know what needs to be done."

You nod again, your chest squeezing.

Behind you his feet shuffle. "look...i'm not going to lie. you're a rarity down here. the last human who came down here was...a long time ago, and when time passes, the monsters...they lose hope, you know?"

Your finger reaches and touches the water, and the ripples calm the frantic beating in your heart.

"but..."

You hear him move and you look up. His grin is compassionate, and the dots of his eyes are wide. A little sweat breaks out on his forehead. He looks from you to the pond and closes his eyes.

"...you might hear a lot of things, kid. and not all of them will be good. but you should know..."

He opens his eyes and looks at you with such intensity you have to look back at the pond. "...you deserve to live too. whatever you did to get down here, you have a right to live, just like everybody else."

You frown.

"...hey," he says, and you look up again. He beckons you to stand, and you do. Sweat beads all along his brow and he pulls out a handkerchief to wipe it away, then digs into his jacket and hands you another one. You take it and dab the forming tears away. When you're done, he's back to his usual grin.

He puts a hand on your shoulder. The ridges dig into your skin, and it's cold, terribly cold. He squeezes. "you might not get what I'm saying _,_ but...don't do anything stupid, k? i promised to keep an eyesocket on you, but i can't be worrying you're going to run off and do something dumb."

Your hand twitches to your chest.

His gaze lingers over the spot where your heart is. Guilt touches his eyes, and you hitch. Not _Sans_. He couldn't...no...

In a wave of emotion, you lean forward, his arms catching you, and then you surge into his jacket and wrap him with a bear hug. For a moment he's surprised, but you feel him sink into it and hug you back, and you're smothered in warmth, hearing the thrum in his chest which you assume is his heartbeat. Of course, skeletons don't have hearts, but you wonder what you would see if you lifted his shirt and looked between the ribs. Would there be a little heart-shaped soul in there, humming with magic, yet somehow weaker than the one beating inside you? What would it look like if it had the power of yours? Deep down, did he want your soul delivered to Asgore too? Did Toriel?

You don't want to know the answer.

Sans squeezes, then lets you go. You smile at him half-heartedly, and he grins back at you.

"hey now, if I was going, I'd try to hurry up and _mufasa_..." You giggled at that. "you got better things to do than stand around with lazy bones like me."

You nod, the weight in your chest lifted. **DETERMINATION** , familiar and comforting, fills you. With a little wave, you turn around and head towards the Box, your pockets ringing softly with trinkets. You're very aware of the rhythmic beating in your chest, but for the first time since you've started wandering the caverns, it doesn't disturb you at all.

* * *

 **i apologize for the wait. you'd think with chapter 4 already written in paper form it'd been out a long time ago, but apparently that's not the case. instead, after finishing the Waterfall section, i decided to whip this up instead of working on that. *claps in awe of brilliance***

 **anyway, so great things are cooking. we're gonna get some Underfell coming along in a couple of chapters, maybe a Flowey possession au. also, a couple reviews voice concern over continuity of the chapters. Cold Pasta is a series of one-shots. most of them are not gonna be connected, like chapter one and two. if they are, which for a few will be the case, i'll make sure you know. but for a heads up, chapters 1, 2, and 3 have nothing to do with each other, except Sans is in them.**

 **anyway, off to chapter 4. halfway done. should be out sooner than later. and grazie for the reviews. as we all know**

 **reviews = happy author = quicker updates**


	4. Chapter 4

She hadn't _wanted_ to hurt Toriel.

In fact, she couldn't really remember ever reaching for the...knife, or the panicked cutting; everything before the moment she'd come from the big doors into the cold was a confusing haze. There was a shout, a knife, this...voice. There was blood and...fire...Something or someone else, but she couldn't remember. All she knew was she had hurt Toriel to get here and she felt _terrible_. Toriel had been so kind to her, she knew, fixing her broken wrist and ankles, feeding her treats, trying to cheer her up and comforting her with stories. Toriel had been her friend...And what had she done?

Run away. Breaking her heart...

 _But she would have kept you there forever!_ she thought, _You would have never seen mommy or daddy again! And she was a monster, too, she would've eaten you!_

 _Would she? She was so nice!_

 _Monsters aren't nice!_

In confusion, she began to weep; big, fat droplets that chilled in the frigid air. Wind gusted and her dress flapped. Her feet, a foot buried in the snow, were numb and she couldn't feel her toes. All around her were monsters; big, small, some with fur and scales and wings. They wandered through the trees and lakes, in and out of the little shacks and houses she'd snuck by, but now they were in a town of some sorts, floating or crawling or walking among the houses and shops. She couldn't believe it. Monsters did not live in houses and they didn't buy things and they certainly didn't wear hats or jackets like the mouse-thing that hobbled by her hiding spot did, yet here they were.

She was hidden between two bushes and a tree, just outside the borders of the town. After dodging and tiptoeing her way past monsters who's sight made her want to cry, she'd picked this place to catch her breath, which also, to her relief, partially blocked the wind. Not that it helped. Her green dress, which barley passes her knees, and her thin jacket and shiny black flats were poor defense. Her body shivered violently. Her stomach had recently begun to growl every ten minutes to remind her how hungry she was, and she wished she had eaten some of that pie Toriel had made her, or stolen that ice cream when she had the chance.

The wind gusted again, and she sobbed into her knees. She should have never left Toriel. She remembered Toriel begging her to stay, remembered ignoring her because she was so...so _stupid!_ She should have never left, should have never run away to play by herself. Already she imagined her aunt, weeping, calling her parents to give them the news, that they had searched and searched and searched up and down the mountain and their daughter was nowhere to be found. She could see her mom and dad crying...

And now she was surrounded by monsters that would probably eat her with no idea how to get home, never-mind what she was going to eat if a monster didn't catch her first. If the cold didn't...

"SANS?!"

Fear bloomed in her stomach.

"SAAAANS?! BROTHER?!"

The high pitched voice was behind her. Ever muscle screamed at her to run, but she had no idea where she would run to. If she left her spot, she was sure one of the monsters in the town would see her, and if she tried to run in the woods whatever just screamed would catch her too. So she turned, very carefully, the wind ripping her dress. Behind her stretched the forest of bare trees and bushes, all sprinkled with snow. It was snowing rather lightly, but she didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

"I RELENT," the voice echoed, "YOU HAVE WON!"

There! To her far right, was a...super...? She couldn't make it out from this distance. Something red...was it a cape?

It was walking away from her, still calling out for it's brother, their voice carried by the wind. She remained frozen until he was well out of sight, and only adjusted her crouch when the voice faded away.

"howdy," someone said to her left.

She screamed and shot her arms out widely, hitting something, but didn't bother to turn and look, instead sprinting forward, crashing out of the bushes and running forward. Trees blurred past her, the frigid air ice water on her lungs. Her legs cried in protest, and a great pang of hunger tore into her stomach and forced her to stop under a tree.

 _They found me!_

She realized that in her running she had lost her shoes, and her socks soaked in the snow. Her stomach roiled. She could barley move her toes. A branch cracked to her right. She spun, her heart pounding, expecting a terrifying monster snarling.

Nothing but tree and snow. Her blood pounded in her ears.

Something breathed down her back.

"boo."

Adrenaline burst into her veins and she catapulted forward, beelining for the trees, but something tripped her and she fell face-first into the snow. It bit into her face and she twisted around, but soon enough the snow melted into her dress and soaked her clothes.

She looked up, and scrambled back in terror. A skeleton loomed above her, wearing...an oversized blue jacket? The skull was round, and where there should have been eyes there were two sockets, each with a pinprick of white looking at her. But what scared her more was the grin, a wide, mask-like smile that showed all the teeth and terrified her worse than the freakish planet monster who tried to flirt with her or the snowflake thing that had garbled at her.

She shuffled back, and the skeleton pulled its hands, previously stuffed in it's enormous jacket, out and casually gestured for her to stop.

"hey now, you're practically a snowman in this weather," it said, but it wasn't talking. It's grin remained stuck on it's face and the mouth never opened, but she heard the voice as if it was opening its mouth.

"keep screaming like that and you might have a meltdown," it said, it's eyes widening in a "ta-da" manner.

When she said nothing it frowned, though it was more the edges of his mouth tilting down slightly. "aw come on. that was my best one."

Wind snaked through the trees, causing her to tremor. Her hands, buried in snow, tingled painfully and her wet clothes were stuck to her skin uncomfortably. She began to cry.

It took a step forward and she cringed, paused in her crying. "Leave me alone!" she shouted.

The expression didn't change, and it took another step forward. She scooted back into the trunk of a tree and gasped. _Cornered!_ Running away flashed in her mind, but a pang in her stomach reminded her she didn't have the energy to do it, or to fight back either.

 _I'm going to...to..._

Eventually her tears ran dry and she was left to sob in hiccups, her fingers too numb to wipe the remnants away.

"i don't think you want me doing that, kid," it said. "not to be rude, but you don't look so good."

She cowered as he moved, ready for it to grab her and drag her off somewhere to be eaten, but instead something bumped against her head. She peeked between her hands, her eyes puffy and red. The skeleton stood, grinning, offering a skeletal hand.

"You're not going to...to...to eat...?"

It shook it's head. "nah. i like my meat warm."

She froze.

It winked at her. "just kidding with ya. i don't eat kids."

She didn't relax. Instead, she tried scooting to the left. The skeleton made no move towards her, but she didn't trust that, so she stopped. Minutes passed, it seemed. Her breathing slowed and her heartbeat calmed down, yet each time she glanced at the beady eyes her spine crawled.

It closed it's eyes, and sighed behind the unchanging grin. "so," it opened it's eyes and looked at her, and she thought it looked sad. She crawled back. It scratched it's neck. "kid, see, i have a job to do." It closed it's eyes. "but i don't wanna do it at the moment." It opened its eyes, grinning. "kind of in a lazy mood. so, uh why don'tcha-"

"SANS?"

The wind howled. She knew that voice. She glanced around, but she didn't see the red figure. But she heard it again- "SAAAAAAANS?" - echoed on the wind, and she was scared.

The skeleton, however, was not. It had closed it's eyes again, and when it opened them the small specks of light were dull.

"BROTHER? WHERE DID YOU GO? ARE YOU PLAYING THOSE TIME SHENANIGANS AGAIN?"

They both said nothing. She grew tense, her heart resuming it's frantic beating. Fear bloomed in her stomach. Something was wrong. Was the skeleton scared of whoever was calling for its brother? It didn't seem so. But she could feel something heavy in the air, a change in the skeleton's posture.

"well," it said behind it's grin. It closed its eyes again. "sorry, pal"

Now she was terrified. She scrambled back, her feet scrabbling in the dirt and snow. The skeleton made no move. She pushed herself up into a standing position against the tree trunk, whimpering, her legs and arms shaking.

"Are...are...you-you-" she tried to say, but at that moment the skeleton opened its eyes.

The world around her, it seemed, dimmed, until everything was focused on the monster in front of her. It's left socket was empty, just a pit of unfathomable black blinking at her. It's right socket, however, was not. Floating in the black was a single blue eye, which glared at her with intensity and glowed an aqua color that made her skin crawl. Sitting in that blue was a small line of yellow, a slanted pupil that made the entire eye demonic, the kind of scary that bad monsters had, not ones that told jokes or looked like a chubby skeleton. Suddenly it wasn't nice at all. Suddenly the skeleton's arms were out of the jacket, and the grin was nothing friendly but something terrifying.

She screamed.


	5. Chapter 5

The skeleton was unfazed when she walked into the hall again, the same expression on her face from the last time she walked in.

"so...you're back again."

She continued, her face stoic in the shadows cast by the harsh light, and stopped a few feet away from him, the knife dangling at her side.

"didn't learn much, did we?"

Silence.

He shrugged. "what'd you miss this time? a bit of dialogue, an item, some stats...?"

She shook their head, and spoke. Her voice was scratchy and awkward, as it was prone to be. She never spoke much, and when she did it never sounded right. And, he noted, it appeared every time she felt up to a genocidal rampage she had an even harder time with the talking part. Came with the territory, he supposed.

" _Why_...did you _let_ me... _live_?"

Now _that_ was unexpected. He cocked his head. "huh? you wanna know why i didn't just take you out at the start?"

He chuckled, but it was mirthless. Inside, he felt the power she might have called **DETERMINATION** stir inside him, and his eye flared blue. "heh..." He winked at her, "i considered it..."

* * *

 _...once or twice."_

* * *

When the door shut behind her, she stood for a while looking down at the ground, knife in a loose grip at her side. That gave him a moment to study the sleeves of her sweater-an odd habit, he supposed. This would be, what? Fourth? Fifth genocide in a row? And sure enough, there was a fine layer of white ringing the sleeves. His heart fell. That meant Toriel had been killed again, with her dust remaining forgotten, sprinkled only on the cold floor.

He closed his eyes, a customary habit whenever he got too emotional.

When he opened them, she was moving.

He wasted no time.

* * *

When it was done, her **SOUL** emerged from her bone-riddled body and hovered over the bloody snow. It stilled. He had seen this before; it would float there for a minute as she prepared to **LOAD,** and then they'd both be right back where they started.

He huffed, sweat sheeted on his brow. In the natural light of the Underground the **SOUL** was a beacon of pulsing bright red. The pulsing was growing faint by the second, though. Any moment the **LOAD** would finish. She would no doubt be furious. From the momentary shock he'd seen on her face, he guessed she wasn't expecting this at all, which meant he'd never done this before. Either that, or she'd be a deadly kind of curious. Did she have control over _when_ she **LOAD** ed, he wondered? If so, would she purposely **LOAD** in the more distant past? Or would she **LOAD** right outside the door to and give him no time to do this again?

Maybe she'd get a sadistic streak and find a way to punish him. She'd done it before.

He did something else unexpected. As the **SOUL** pulsed one final time, he stepped forward, extended his hands, and grabbed it.

"not this time," he said to it, though he didn't know if she could hear him, "sorry."

Immediately he felt a warmth in his hands. A force pushed his hands from actually touching the heart, but it made no difference. He pulled it close; he realized if he closed his eyes and concentrated he could, in a splintered, unfocused way, _feel_ her _-_ her anger, her confusion. He could feel a lot of other things too- curiosity, fear, regret, and a uncomfortable, almost alien hate, and he looked away after that.

He zipped open his jacket. Now, he supposed, was a time for spontaneousness. He didn't think it would work anyway. Carefully, he cupped his hand open and pushed the **SOUL** between his ribs, feeling a slight tug and using his magic to pull the rest of it in. He felt _her_ again, and this time he couldn't just turn her off, but he did feel an opening, of sorts, a kind of magnetic attraction between their **SOULS**. He also felt how _weak_ her **SOUL** was. It wasn't even at **1 HP** \- there was simply none at all, and it was cracking now that the **LOAD** was interrupted. He had to activate a good chunk of his own magic to keep it together.

"heh..." he said. "caught you before you could reset. didn't think i could do it. funny, huh?"

He felt an overwhelming sense of despair and confusion.

"..."

His eyes fell heavy. He glanced at their body, now peppered with snow. He'd shaken that hand with a whoopee cushion, once.

"you shouldn't have come back, kid."

* * *

He took a shortcut to Asgore. The **SOUL** had shone through his jacket and made a faint red heart where it rested in his ribcage. He found that the shortcut was harder to use than usual, now that half of his attention was focused on keeping the **SOUL** together.

Asgore, as usual, was attending to his flowers.

"Oh? Is someone there?" the king said, turning around. He smiled. "Sans? I did not hear you come in. Were you wanting to visit? You look like you have something to get off your chest."

"heh," he said. "oh boy do i do."

He unzipped his jacket and pushed the **SOUL** out of his chest and into his palm, and then raised it to Asgore. The king's face fell placid.

"ta-dah."

In response the **SOUL** cracked, an audible _tck_. His eyes widened and sweat broke on his forehead. In an instant, he snatched the **SOUL** and pushed it back into his chest, immediately resuming his magcial pressure on it. It held together, barley.

"Sans, were you the one to...?" Asgore nodded to his chest, where the **SOUL** glowed a red heart on his jacket.

"i'm a sentry." he shrugged. "i did my job for once."

"and..." He let a little hope into his eyes. "...it should be over now. this is the last **SOUL** , right? you have seven. the barrier can finally be broken. monsters can go free."

Asgore's face fell. "Well..." He closed his eyes, and frowned. "About that..."

Odd enough, he didn't feel any surprise at all.

"Would you walk with me for a moment?"

"sure."

* * *

The barrier was white and featureless, and wholly depressing. The air was heavy, and when Asgore stopped he almost walked into him. Keeping the **SOUL** together took more of his attention than he liked, and there was something about the barrier that seemed especially oppressing towards monsters. He guessed the humans had built it that way.

Asgore nodded forward, where the walls seemed to tunnel to a point of bright white. "This is the barrier. I'm sure you already knew that."

On the floor were six circles.

"And here..."

Using his magic, Asgore activated them-

"...are the **SOULS**."

They raised to reveal the **SOULS** , resting in their jars. Inside he felt his own **SOUL** shiver. It already took a lot to keep her **SOUL** together, and it took even more to stop himself from absorbing it, but the presence of the six now made it seem like a magnetic tether was on him, an opportunity begging to be taken, if best put. He didn't doubt Asgore felt the same way.

When he looked briefly into her **SOUL,** he saw pure fear. He looked away, and he tried not to let his gaze linger on the jars.

"Six **SOULS** collected over the years, locked away here at the barrier. And thanks to you there are now seven...but..."

The king sighed. "I must be honest with you. I am not ready for this. We cannot open the barrier yet."

He frowned.

"To cross the barrier, I only needed one soul. But, I dared not go..." He fell silent for a moment. "...knowing how my son died."

He nodded to the **SOULS**. "It is true, with seven I can free us. I can become a god. A god among monsters. But among humans, with would matter not. There are millions of them, and only hundreds of us."

The king looked away. "If they knew what I had done, Sans, they would destroy us all."

He was silent, and fished his hand out his pocket. His palm felt sweaty.

"Let us...Think carefully over this. Over a cup of tea..." He turned to him, and his face was kindly. "We'll put the **SOUL** away with the others for now." He reached a large, furry hand out, palm open. "I am sorry you have had to carry this burden for even this bit of time."

He looked down. The **SOUL** rattled in his chest, pounding with terror. **SOULS** , as far as he knew, didn't make it past the absorption part- they dissolved into **DETERMINATION** which was added to the monster's reserves. He didn't imagine how the rest of the **SOULS** managed to get into those jars intact, but this one wasn't gonna fit the bill. And even then, what now? Was there a set amount of time before Asgore decided that he was okay with the plan? Was he going to call a press conference to say, "Sorry, guys, we have the **SOULS** now, but I just don't feel it today. Come back later."?

"nope," he said, backing away. Asgore's hand twitched. "even if i wanted to, i'm barley able to hold this **SOUL** together. it's not gonna make it in a glass jar. 'sides," he didn't bother to keep the edge out of his voice. "i didn't break a promise to sit and drink tea."

The hurt on Asgore's face was one thing. But, as his memory tended to do, another thing surfaced: Frisk, holding back a sheepish smile when the whoopie cushion went off.

"i didn't..."

Frisk, arms balanced as he topped her head with another hotdog. Frisk, holding an impromptu concert in Waterfall. Frisk, leaning into a telescope to look at the ceiling.

"i didn't kill a kid to just wait a few extra years to get a happy ending."

* * *

It's somewhere in the outskirts of Snowdin. There are bones and tree limbs scattered everywhere, and the snow is interrupted, footprints and dried blood breaking apart the serene white. A skeleton trudges through, calling out for it's brother.

"SANS?" echoes through the wind.

"BROTHER, WHERE ARE YOU, YOU LAZYBONES?" they call out, stepping over a broken bone. "YOU LEFT YOU RPOST WIDE OPEN."

Their foot nudges something and they look down. There's something lying on the snow. It's small, and purple too. "HELLO?" he says he says with slight concern, and then he notices the several bones sticking out of it. He's never seen a monster like this, and so he doesn't know if that's what it's supposed to look like. "ARE YOU OKAY?"

It doesn't reply, so he bends down and picks it up. It's light, and rolls into his arms to show a face, though it's cut and bruised and the eyes are closed. He doesn't think it should have such a terrible cut on it's arm, though, and the purple shirt is torn too.

He smiles at it. "I SHALL TAKE YOU TO UNDYNE, DO NOT WORRY," he says cheerfully as he starts back to Snowdin. "SHE WILL KNOW WHAT TO DO."

* * *

 **The comic in question is _post/135227136600/i-had-a-thought-the-thought-continues-here._**


	6. Chapter 6

He turned his back to Asgore.

"sorry, asgore," he said. "i can't afford to slack off on this."

"Sans," the king said, his voice echoing in the empty space, "I do not know what you are thinking of, but surely there is time to talk."

* * *

For some monsters, the run from Snowdin to Waterfall was a lengthy trip, but he was a Royal Guard (in training), and was no regular monster. So of course it took only a few hours to trudge up to Undyne's house. He didn't like running, as it jostled the monster in his arms, but they hadn't move at all since he found them, and he was worried for every minute that passed.

Undyne was, as he expected, sparring in her front yard with a dummy. A blue spear flashed into her hand as she prepared to impale it, but she heard his approach and turned, lowering the spear. "Papyrus," she greeted, "wha-"

Her face fell.

* * *

He turned around. The **SOUL** inside him fluttered with fear, and he raised his hood, a habitual thing he did when he got too emotional. Under his jacket, the heart flared.

"it has to happen."

Amazingly, the king didn't seem to be worried at all, despite his words. It was as if the king didn't, or couldn't, believe he'd actually do anything at all. He was known for that. "Now, now...No need to be brash."

* * *

It turned out, to his total shock, that the monster in his arms wasn't a monster at all. It was a _human_.

"The **SOUL** isn't here?!" Undyne shouted as she ran. It hadn't taken her long to don her armor, and he was amazed at how fast she could run, fast enough that he was behind her as they sprinted through Waterfall. "And your brother wasn't there?!"

"NO, HE WASN'T." he shouted back, trying his best to keep the human still despite the running. "SURLEY THIS HUMAN CAN HELP, ONCE WE HELP THEM." After all, humans were supposed to be really strong, right? If he helped them get better, surely they'd use that power to help his brother in whatever predicament he was in.

Undyne was silent.

* * *

He opened the eye. Everything was sharper whenever he opened it, movements clearer to detect, details pronounced. He could see the fine texture of Asgore's fur, the wrinkles in his face, the sadness in his eyes. The **SOULS** glared at him like six tiny suns. He raised his arm and _pinged_ them, and they burst from their jars and hovered in the air precariously. He couldn't hold them for long, though-he felt his grip on her **SOUL** shiver, another crack forming.

It was this that apparently convinced the king that something _was_ going to happen, and panic seized his face. " _No, you must not!_ "

The air began to _thrum_ , a heavy buzz of sheer **DETERMINATION**. The urge to absorb them was ridiculous. He felt her **SOUL** draw into his and he pushed back, focusing everything on not eating up the power like a piece of delicious pie.

" _The future of everyone depends on it!_ "

He pulled his hand forward, the **SOULS** barreling towards him. The buzzing was to a roar.

"i know."

* * *

The human hadn't moved at all, not through Waterfall or Hotland, not even when he carefully laid them on Alphys's couch. He was worried the cold air of the laboratory would make them sick, but there were no blankets to wrap them in.

"SURLEY THE BRILLIANT DOCTOR ALPHYS CAN SOLVE THIS MYSTERY," he said, as the scientist typed furiously on a computer. Undyne was restless, pacing around, looking over the monster's shoulder, keeping her gaze away from the human, odd enough, and sometimes glancing at Alphys.

She flashed him a strained smile. "Sure she can! She'll find that SOUL."

"Y-yeah.." Alphys stuttered, frantically typing. She seemed extremely nervous, to his eyes. He couldn't guess as to why. "I-I'll do my best."

They were silent, then. But then a thought came to him. "AND ONCE WE FIND THE SOUL AND MY BROTHER," he perked, "WE CAN SAVE THE HUMAN AND I CAN JOIN THE GUARD."

Alphys made a strange sound and typed even faster. Undyne's face twitched. "Sure..Papyrus..."

He frowned. Everyone was acting so strange. His brother was gone, and so was the **SOUL** , but they'd found a human. He'd _captured_ a human. Shouldn't Undyne be proud of him? Shouldn't they all be happy?

The scientist gasped, her typing suddenly stopped. "W-what the...?"

Undyne stepped forward. "What's wrong, Alphys?"

"Th-this can't be right..." She typed, her voicing raising in panic and tripping over itself as she talked faster. "I traced the residual energy left on the human, decoded the pattern, and deployed an ultrasonic scan of the entire Underground to find a matching signal..." She trembled. "I've ch-checked three times now. I keep getting th-the same impossible result. Something h-has to be wired wrong of ma-malfunctioning..."

"What is it?" Undyne pressed. "What's is saying?"

Her voice was a breath, her hands wringing. "The **SOUL** is already at the castle..."

Undyne was a flurry of movement, a spear materializing in her hand. " _I'm on my way!_ " she shouted as she started to run. " _Asgore!_ "

"I-It's impossible," Alphys said, "I haven't seen anything on my cameras, there's no way it could've..."

"WAIT UNDYNE," he shouted, "WE CAN'T FORGET THE HUMAN!"

* * *

 **DETERMINATION** roared.

* * *

They ran. He lagged behind, trying not to jostle the human.

"Papyrus, why are you still carrying that thing?!" she shouted.

"THEY MAY BE WITHOUT A **SOUL** ," he shouted back, "BUT THEY HAVEN'T TURNED TO DUST YET! THEY CAN STILL BE HELPED!"

"Papyrus!" she frowned, "Humans don't..."

They ran. His heart pounded. Something was wrong. This whole day was wrong. Everyone was acting _weird_. Undyne wasn't happy at all, Alphys was upset, Sans was gone as usual, there was something wrong with the human...

"You know what? It's fine. Yeah. We'll help the human." she said.

" ** _After I destroy whoever dared to steal a SOUl themselves!_** " Then she was _sprinting_ , blue spears erupting around her in a great battle cry. She left him behind despite his shouting, heading for the elevator.

* * *

The air cracked.

* * *

She pounded on the door, leaving a dent. "Of all the times for the elevator to not work!" she roared.

In response, the doors opened smoothly, elevator music greeting them. They rushed inside, pausing before the row of buttons. Undyne hissed. " _I don't know what to push!_ "

* * *

The walls cracked, the floor shuddered.

* * *

He tried to duck away from the spears as they rushed through the halls. "No matter what happens, Papyrus," she ordered, her voice in the tone she used when they got serious during cooking lessons. "you stay behind me! We don't know who took the **SOUL** or your brother! That kind of power could turn anyone into a huge threat!"

* * *

The room quaked. The soft glow fell, the cracks splintering everywhere. Power hummed in the air. There was a great rush, and a **crack** , and then everything collapsed, chunks of barrier dissolving into nothingness.

* * *

 ***The barrier was destroyed.**


	7. Chapter 7

"ASGORE!" Undyne shouted as they burst into the throne room. His heart was racing at this point, his nervousness overcoming his excitement. He'd never been inside the throne room, much less the castle, and the idea of meeting the King, of presenting the human...he'd only dreamed of this, and now he was finally here. The throne room was quaint, the floor covered in golden flowers, something he had not expected, and he gasped. In the center sat a stone throne, empty, but it was massive, and he could imagine the King sitting there.

" _Ngah!_ " she shouted. "He's not in here! He must be at the barrier."

"UNDYNE," he said, "HAVED YOU SAVED THE DAY YET?"

She flipped her spear. "I'm about to." She turned to him, glancing at the human. "You should stay here, Papyrus. You're...not an official guard yet."

"BUT OF COURSE!" He walked over to the throne and gingerly set the human down. It was, after all, the only chair here, and he didn't want to crush the delicate flowers. He was sure the king wouldn't mind. "SOMEONE NEEDS TO KEEP AN EYE ON THE HUMAN."

Undyne nodded, and walked past them and out of the throne room. He tried smiling at the human, but they were still, and he had to adjust them so they sat comfortably. He sighed, and sat against the throne.

"DO NOT FEAR, SMALL HUMAN. UNDYNE WILL SAVE YOUR SOUL."

* * *

The cave, to her surprise, was dark. Too dark. She had been to the barrier only a few times, but she remembered how bright it had been, how heavy. It felt as if the air was closing on her, getting denser with every step. It was the magic of the Barrier, she knew, but now, as she ran through the nigh-darkness, she felt nothing but the terror in her heart.

 _Maybe...maybe Asgore was given the SOUL?_

* * *

The sun was impossibly bright, brighter than his faded memory recalled. He squinted against it, glimpsing the landscape around him, the sky above him. _Sky._ He thought he'd never think that word again. Below was a thick forest, with a lake shimmering in the center of the valley. Part of him gawked at what he was seeing-couldn't believe in the span of minutes decades of waiting and worrying had been torn apart.

"Y...you..."

It had fallen apart, in the end. All of it.

He heard movement behind him and turned to the ruin that was the side of the mountain. A figure ran forward, but he didn't have to guess long as to who it was, not with the electric spear sparking at her side and the rather noisy black armor.

"Asgore!" she cried as he turned to greet her.

"Undyne..."

She emerged from the dark into the sunlight, blinking rapidly, but the confused and confrontational expression melted into hesitant joy when she realized where she was.

"You did it?! You opened the barrier?!"

"No...I did not."

Her smiled vanished. "Then who?"

* * *

Undyne had heard many stories of the top world, of the sky and the endless green. There were some who were alive before the war, and could distantly recall what it'd been like to walk under the clouds and sail in endless water. Alphys liked to tell her that a lot, about the ocean and the other fish inside it, though she didn't know if they talked like Undyne did. She'd heard of the sun, too, and she realized she could see it beyond the guilty face of Asgore, but she noticed there were actually two suns. When Asgore's face fell and she realized he looked no different with the SOULS than without them, she finally noticed the awful light to her side.

"Then...who...?" she said as she turned, and her heart went cold.

It was not a sun.

It was not a sun at all.

But she was a warrior, and fear did not stop her from drawing her weapon. Fury replaced confusion. "I...I don't know who or _what_ you are..." she said.

Her spears materialized in blazing electrcity, the realization dawning on her. Rage consumed her.

 _"BUT YOU'RE GOING TO GIVE BACK THOSE SOULS!"_

* * *

Papyrus was worried already, but as the time passed and Undyne and the King still didn't come back, the worry was starting to eat at him. He couldn't use his phone to call them, afraid he might interrupt something, and the human's body was stiff on the throne, their skin pale, and they hadn't breathed at all. Were humans suppose to breath? He didn't need to-maybe they didn't either.

"HUMAN," he said, "I CAN'T HELP BUT NOTICE HOW YOU'VE BEEN SO SILENT. I'VE ACTUALLY...NEVER SEEN SOMONE WHO HAS "FALLEN DOWN" BEFORE."

* * *

The light vanished. It had taken her somewhere dark and infinite. The SOULS shimmered before her, but she could feel its presence humming in the empty space. She aimed her spears.

 _"SHOW YOURSELF!"_

* * *

"I DON'T KNOW WHY MY BROTHER IS MISSING," he admitted, looking at the flowers around him. He thought the human would have liked where they were, if they were awake. "OR WHY YOUR SOUL WAS STOLEN..."

"BUT!" he shot them a grin. "I DO KNOW SOME THINGS."

* * *

" _Who do you think you are?!_ " she shouted at the darkness around her, waving her spear in a vain attempt to hit something. "It's the job of the _Royal Guard_ and _Sentries_ to get the human SOUL!"

Spears exploded from her, darting out into the void. _"Why would you steal from our King?!"_

* * *

"UNDYNE IS THE BEST AT SAVING PEOPLE," he went on, stroking the petal of a flower. "AND LOTS OF OTHER THINGS," he added, remembering her amazing cooking skills. "AND THE KING WOULD LOVE TO MEET YOU." That he didn't doubt-from what he knew, the King loved everybody. "MY BROTHER WOULD FLOOD YOU WITH ENDLESS PUNS, BUT YOU WOULD LIKE THEM, I'M SURE."

* * *

She found it. It was a single red SOUL, apparently unguarded, floating in the void. She targeted everything at it, prepared to shatter it into pieces. It didn't so much as pulse.

"And Papyrus's brother?" She drew back her arm. " _What did you do to him?_ "

* * *

But he couldn't shake the nagging thought. When he had found the human, they were among bones. Bones, he knew, that only his brother could have made. And that thought kept wiggling in his head, even when he glanced at their silent form. "AND...WELL, HUMAN. I DO NOT KNOW MUCH ABOUT YOU. BU YOU SEEM LIKE YOU'D BE A GOOD FRIEND."

He patted their knee. "I KNOW YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE A SOUL, BUT I THINK YOU ARE DOING VERY WELL WITHOUT ONE. KEEP HANGING ON. UNDYNE IS SURE TO COME BACK SOON."

* * *

 **"** _h_ **e** _'_ **s** _r_ **i** _g_ **h** _t_ **h** _e_ **r** _e_ ," something said.

She turned, and screamed.

" _i_ **'** _v_ **e** _d_ **e** _f_ **i** _n_ **i** _t_ **e** _l_ **y** _b_ **e** _e_ **n** _i_ **n** _b_ **e** _t_ **t** _e_ **r** _s_ **h** _a_ **p** _e_ **t** _h_ **o** _u_ **g** _h_."


	8. Chapter 8

**From an excellent comic called _Horrortale_ by the dear Sour Apple Studios, which I impress you read on her deviantART. She posted a summary of alternative choices; this is that illustrated with words. For her; I adore your style and most of all interpretation and wholly advocate you continue. - LA**

* * *

The crazy goat mom was gone; so were the spiked bones. The world had taken a grey undertone in which everything irrelevant had either faded into obscurity or vanished, the purple walls a colorless hue and the floor nigh-black. If he could have breathed, he would have felt as if the air itself had disappeared too. Even she, frozen in her slumped position, was washed-down color wise, her purple dress a tanned grey and her hair the color of settled ash. Where the bone had impaled her neck was a clean hole surrounded by dark stain which had spread to the floor.

"Hmm…." he said, and his voice was compressed here, "you're new to dying, aren'tcha Aliza?"

"Well, someone ought to teach you how death works around here,' he continued despite her silence. "You're dead." And he smiled, which translated into a squint. "A deranged goat mom made a twisted promise with a psychotic and it ended with a bone in your throat. Welcome to the Underground. Oh, and that pain you're feeling? That terror?"

His face peeled back in his glee to reveal his true form for a moment, a grotesque malformation of stem and petals and spikes to show a mouth grinning wildly. "That's just the beginning! In the normal world death is final, but here you will SAVE and LOAD at times you feel great emotion. There were times when that emotion was called DETERMINATION, but for you it's…..FEAR! That's right! Every time you die you'll be brought back to the moment you wished you were dead!"

Silence, but he was certain the quivering soul in her chest felt something that tickled the delight he was feeling. His face was normal, and he squinted again. "Oh come on. That's pretty ironic don'tcha think?"

Nothing happened….and then something did. There was a bright _ping_ and the stains vanished, the hole in her neck gone. Her head snapped up and in her eyes was a tight, furious look, and the little flower balked as she stood high and glared at him.

"What's with that face?" he asked, his usually high voice quiet. When she did nothing but stare, he relaxed.

"Huh. Maybe you do have some pathetic sense of determination after all." He shrugged, which was his leaves fluttering. "Well. You know. You helped me. I helped you. I think we make a great team." His eye flattened. "So I'll help you out one more time. You'll revive the moment Toriel's at her closet. Slowing down now will get you killed, but…Speeding up is certain death too. So…"

The gray was darkening to black now that she was active. He, and no doubt she, felt a collective _rush_ , like something was about to catch up with them very quickly. If he strained, he could hear distant shouting which sounded furious and deadly.

"So…what will you do? When the time comes…-"

And then there was a yank, a distinct jerk of time, and he was no longer in the ground but in a pair of grasped hands held by a very much alive and sprinting Aliza. They were back in the basement, where the doors stood on one end and behind them they could hear the angry breathing of Toriel. It wasn't for long, though; she tossed him to the side where he skidded to the ground and huffed in annoyance. She, on the other hand, stopped and to his shock curled into a ball. A small one, to her credit, because the much larger Toriel had no time to register her before she ran into Aliza with a startled cry.

At first Flowey thought she was simply going to fall on top of the human and start strangling her, until he heard her utter a strangled, "Wait! Sans sto-!" Of course it was too late; the massive goat mom heaved over Aliza and into the empty space where seconds later a field of bones rose up from the ground to impale Toriel in several places, including the arms, chest and head. Her pale eyes widened, and she was dead before she hit the ground. When she did the bones winked out of existence as fast as they had appeared.

In the silence that followed the flower barked a shocked laugh. Beyond the stout doors he could practically see the stunted figure and the red eye boring through the stone, although Flowey doubt it was in anger, since that monster hadn't shown any real action or reaction in he didn't know how long. Aliza uncurled and crawled from under the massive foot, staring at the gory mess with an unreadable expression.

"Wow. You really did it," he said after a time. "You, uh, killed her. Well.. not directly at least. But I'm impressed." He jerked a leaf in the direction of the doors. "But don't kid yourself that she was the worst you're gonna face, especially when you come up against the psychotic I mentioned earlier, who you," and he giggled, "probably made kill her."

He burrowed to where she stood and looked up. "But I'm impressed! Really! It looks like you might have the guts after all, although if you're really going to live or not is another question. So..." He made eye contact with her, where that emotion he couldn't name sat in her eyes. "I'll help you out. See ya!" And he dived into the ground, leaving her alone.


End file.
